1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to mounting systems for photographic and other image capture equipment. More specifically, the invention relates to improved mounting systems for stabilization of such equipment in applications where the equipment and operator may be subject to forces which may cause a force differential and/or a difference of movement between the camera and the operator, such force differential tending to introduce pointing error and/or unwanted movement of the image capture equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional mounting of image capture equipment, which herein will be understood to encompass various kinds of imaging equipment, though previously the art was directed primarily to motion picture photographic equipment for example, stabilization of the equipment is desirable. Whether applicable to photographic, video, digital image, or another form of image capture equipment, which for convenience of reference will be herein referred to as a "camera" and the process of image capture as "photographing" though it is not intended that any limitation should be implied therefrom, the quality of the image sought to be recorded can easily be degraded due to unwanted movement of the camera. Such unwanted movement can be translational or rotational. As will be appreciated, unwanted rotational movement generally produces more striking and unwanted movement of the recorded image and is therefore particularly to be avoided.
As an example, recent innovations in camera mounting systems involving counterbalancing, gyrostabilization, and the like, directed to creating a more steady camera mount in applications where the camera is intended to move during photographing, have been developed to produce a more stable image and thus expand the range of photographic possibilities available. This is beneficial for example in cinematography were wider creative possibilities have been created through application of such technological advances. Nevertheless new problems of stabilization are continuously being encountered as new possibilities in camera mounting are being exploited. Also, problems inherent in conventional equipment have not been entirely overcome by recent advancements.
As an example, in mounting a camera on a moving vehicle, be it a land, water, or air craft for example, the camera will be subjected to forces induced by vehicle movement. Acceleration, deceleration, centripetal, centrifugal, oscillatory and vibratational forces, to name a few ways of characterizing them, act on the camera, as well as the camera operator in applications where the camera is directly operator controlled.
To stabilize the camera, and thereby the recorded image, the aforementioned advancements in camera mounting are applied. For example the camera can be mounted on a counterbalanced beam and provided with a mounting providing multiple degrees of freedom and means for biasing the camera to a desired orientation, thus compensating for and mitigating the effects these forces have upon the camera.
Towards this end it is often desirable to locate the center of mass of the camera so that the set-up of the mounting system can be accomplished and counter weighting and neutral balance of the mounted camera, for example, can be readily accomplished. However this is often not straightforward as differing configurations of the camera will give different centers of mass. One solution is to customize the mounting arrangement for a particular camera from a particular manufacturer set up in a particular way. This simplifies mounting but, as will be appreciated, limits applicability of the system to that of the particular camera used. This can be problematic where creative considerations, for example, dictate use of another camera set up.
Further, in known counter-balanced beam mounting systems that support a camera from a structure mounted on a vehicle and which allow manual control of panning, tilting, and horizon motion, an arm or a pair of arms are used to control the camera. These arms are not in line with the center of mass of the camera and its supporting structure, and they provide leverage which minimizes the force necessary to rotate the camera around the axes of rotation inherent in the supporting mounting system.